Droichead Nua or Newbridge
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Race Against Waste is the name given to the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government’s campaign to bring waste issues to the fore in Ireland. The Race Against Waste campaign aims to raise awareness of waste issues and change peoples behaviour at home and at work to reduce the amount of waste being produced reuse where possible, and increase recycling and composting.

The Race Against Waste Campaign works hand in hand with the Environmental Awareness Officer in Kildare County Council, who is in regular contact with householders, schools, businesses and community groups around the County.

Race Against Waste also works with Tidy Towns Groups around the country and co-ordinate and adjudicates on the “Race Against Waste Module” in the National Tidy Towns Competition.

Race Against Waste works with Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and individual businesses around the country, organising seminars and information programmes.

More recently we have all seen the thought provoking TV advertising campaign and items on the radio, and in the press encouraging us to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle . This campaign is showing how easy it is to recycle cans, paper, glass and plastic bottles; it is also covering composting, and what to do with the perennial problem of “Junk Mail".

According to the Race Against Waste website (Jan 2006) 42% of households have a Green Bin collection, although this figure is growing in Newbridge. Nationally there are in excess of 1,800 bring centres and Civic Amenity Sites, Newbridge has three bring centres – located in Dunne’s, Tesco’s, and the Sports Centre, unfortunately there is no Civic Amenity Site in Newbridge, could a population of in excess of 20,000 people support a Civic Amenity Site?

The increased recycling that is now taking place has sprung from the realisation that waste is an issue for everyone, what you throw away will now cost you as the Refuse Service Providers introduce a “pay by weight” system of paying your bill. Cleaning up waste is also a drain on scarce resources which could be better spent enhancing your environment; whereas waste prevention and recycling will save you money and result in a cleaner environment.

Race Against Waste has introduced a Small Change Programme which will assist small and medium size businesses reduce their waste. The Action at Work programme is a similar guide for large business and institutions. Both guides and other information are available free from Race Against Waste Race Against Waste
or on their website at www.raceagainstwaste.ie.

Some Facts :

Litter accumulates around the town, and the street cleaning crew in Newbridge clean our Town Centre streets and empty our litterbins daily, they collect and dispose of approximately 12 tonnes of litter weekly.

Try Composting your newspapers, uncooked food scraps, fruit peels, vegetable waste leaves, egg shells, bread etc. You can set up a simple composting unit in your back garden at little cost, and use the compost the following year in your flowerbeds.

Landfill is still one of the most common ways of disposing of waste in Ireland; however it is least preferred option in the waste hierarchy. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for licensing landfill operations – even those operated by the County Council!!. Each landfill is licensed to accept only certain types of waste. While we must continue to reduce the waste we send to landfill, it is an unfortunate fact that there will always be some material that cannot be recycled and will continue to be sent to landfill. In 2004 The EPA estimated that Kildare has an approximate capacity to landfill waste for a further six years, i.e. until 2010

Our Throw Away Culture has resulted in the quantities of household waste increasing significantly over the last number of years, it is estimated that we are dumping in excess of 300 Kgs of waste per person every year. Apparently as our economy improves and we become more affluent the more waste we create.

Commercial waste is also increasing; although changing practices in industry, probably resulting from IPC-licensing by the EPA has resulted in a decrease in the amount of Industrial waste being generated and having to be disposed of. The construction boom has seen Irelands construction and demolition waste has also increased significantly in the last few years.

Packaging waste appears to be the most popular household recycling target, glass, cardboard, juice cartons, and now plastic bottles continue to make up a large quantity of the materials being sent for recycling.

Backyard Burning while seen by some of us as “normal” is in fact it is probably the single biggest source of dioxins released into the Irish environment. Backyard Burning is now illegal and if you notice it happening in your locality you should contact the Litter Warden at 1800 243 143 and report it. While some may see Backyard Burning as cheap method of disposing of your waste it will have a lasting effect on your health and the health of your children as it will result in the release of toxic pollutants directly into the air without treatment or filtering. Some of the toxins released are Dioxins, Furans, Volatile Organic Compounds, Carbon Monoxide, some of these are known to cause cancer, and some can lead to kidney and liver failure.

Animal slurry spread directly onto land can run-off and pollute our rivers, lakes and ground water, however slurry can be treated by anaerobic digestion prior to spreading over the land, and this will reduce the danger of pollution caused by slurry run-off.

Where to get Further Information or Advice :

Race Against Waste Campaign
Lo-call: 1890-667-639
Web: www.raceagainstwaste.ie
Email: Race Against Waste

Kildare County Council
Phone:
Web: www.kildare.ie/countycouncil
Email: Kildare County Council - Environment Section